Originally Posted by
Montanabro
Hi folks,
I’ve loved playing AL and have found these forums incredibly fun and helpful. So, I’d like to give back what I can by sharing two PvE Warrior builds I put together, one for high DPS and one for tanking in elite areas. These are the builds I currently use and are based off reading the forums constantly as well as reaching level 16 on each class. I hope especially that the DPS build is helpful to people trying to reach 16 before the level cap is raised in two weeks. In brackets [] I have notes to myself on what benefits I get from charging a skill based solely on the upgrades I've chosen--hope they help you, too.
Montanabro’s PvE Warrior Builds
DPS (leveling to 16 in Kraag or Watcher’s)
-All STR
-Pet: Ribbit. Because of Vengeful Blood you will almost never have to use mana potions. So Flap Jack’s +8 mana regen isn’t useful; take Ribbit instead. Ribbit still provides +8 health regen, but he probably increases your character’s total damage output more than Flap Jack (I go from 77 DPS to 83 DPS). This DPS calculation does NOT include that Ribbit gives you a 40% boost to your critical hit chance for 3 seconds after using his arcane skill. Since the 40% boost lasts only 3 seconds--and it can be tough to sync it with your character’s attacks--I use Ribbit’s attack immedieately after I have released my Windmill and then follow with a quick Skyward Smash and Chest Splitter. Note that you can get about 90% chance to crit when Ribbit’s skill is combined with a charged Vengeful Blood.
-Skyward Smash plus top 2 upgrades [Seismac Slam / Thundering Hammer] [charge to increase range of damage]
-Chest Splitter plus top 2 upgrades [Extended Reach / Decimation] [charge to increase chance of upgrade #2 proccing by 20%//either] [I use upgrade #2 because it adds DPS, even if it isn’t a reliable DPS increase]
-Windmill plus top 3 upgrades [Increased Radius / Blender / Prolonged Spin] [either//charge on boss for damage]
-Vengeful Blood plus all 4 upgrades [charge for 15% boost to critical chance, 10% boost to damage, and 25 STR.]
I open my attack with a charged Skyward Smash (to proc upgrade #1), then go for a normal Chest Splitter and then charge Windmill. Immediately after releasing my charged Windmill I use Ribbit’s attack, and then spam a normal Skyward Smah and normal Chest Splitter. Remember: try to use Chest Splitter to kill enemies because it will proc upgrade #2.
If you find yourself dying too much, use this DPS build instead:
-Skyward Smash plus top 3 upgrades [Seismac Slam / Thundering Hammer / Quaking Earth]
-Chest Splitter plus 1st and 2nd and 4th upgrades [Extended Reach / Decimation / Staggering Blow]
-Windmill plus top 3 upgrades [Increased Radius / Blender / Prolonged Spin]
-Juggernaut plus top 2 upgrades [Ignore Pain / Second Wind]
The difference between the two builds is this: in the second one you have 3 DPS skills and an “on no!” button for when things get hairy. If you feel comfortable micromanaging potions and are finding your health doesn’t drop below 50% much (which should be the case anywhere that not’s an elite zone), use the first build as it will get you to level 16 faster. The first option sacrifices a 25% chance to stun and your emergency button for the following perks (thanks to Vengeful Blood) that will exist just under half the time you’re playing: 25% boost to both critical hit and damage, more mana than you need, and extra strength (which means extra health). Bottom line: if you are doing Kraag or Watcher’s run and haven even mediocre gear, you should be fine with the first build.
Tank (elite runs)
-All STR
-Pet: Flap Jack (although there are purer defense pets out there, Flap Jack is helpful because of his mana and health regen, which means I can focus on the battle a lot more and using my potions a lot less. Compare this: over the course of a 30-second battle, 8 health regen gives you 320 health whereas a pet with 25 to strength will give you a flat 250 health. There are other reasons why I prefer Flap Jack to Ribbit for tanking, one of which is that FP's arcane attack and passive attack provide a nice AoE stun and AoE armor reduction or AoE hit chance reduction. The stun has been very useful to give my character breathing room while clearing up to a boss, and to help out party members who need a few seconds to escape. To be sure, Ribbit's fleeting boost to your crit chance can help maintain aggro, but a Warrior should be relying on taunts for gaining aggro in emergencies, not a very temporary increased chance of doing more damage.
-Skyward Smash plus top 2 upgrades. [Seismac Slam / Thundering Hammer] [charged to increase range of damage]
-Chest Splitter plus 1st, 3rd, and 4th upgrades. [Extended Reach / Relentless Strike / Staggering Blow] [almost a must-have for pure tanks. This skill seems to generate more threat than other attack skills and, specced in the above way, will interrupt big attacks (saving you potions!) and potentially knocking back foes.]
-Horn of Renew plus upgrades 1, 3, 4 [Increased Range / Challenge / Protective Shield] [charged to taunt and pop 2-second shield] The 2nd upgrade adds 1.5 seconds to the renewal, which is only one tick of health regeneration (or ~100 health)—not worth it relative to what you could with that point instead.
-Juggernaut plus 1, 2, 4 [Ignore Pain / Second Wind / Bring It On] [charged for taunt//charge on boss] [This is a close call between this skill and Rally Cry. The damage mitigation between the two is similar even if it is applied differently, but I chose Jug because, in the end, for tanking elites maintaining aggro is everything and Jug gives us an emergency taunt. Also, I question how helpful the 10% armor of Rally Cry is for non-warriors since those classes have low armor to begin with.]
This build has served me well when I need to stay focused on the battle and keeping enemies off my squishier allies. It seems that normal attacks generate more threat than charged attacks since you can use the attacks more frequently this way, so try that if you find maintaining aggro difficult. I usually open with a charged Horn of Renew to taunt all nearby enemies and then move to a charged Skyward Smash and a normal Chest Splitter. I only use Jug when [a] I am losing health fast or my group has pulled too many enemies or [b] an enemy has peeled off me and is running for an ally, in which case I charge Jug and cast it when I’m near the enemy.
EDIT: I've been asked a couple times whether I'll make similar guides for Rogues and Sorcerers. I plan to get both out before the new patch. Stay tuned!
